Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
Stalking injunctions in Florida are reserved for victims who can show evidence of substantial emotional distress as a result of the repeated harassment of another person. This was an issue in the case Abercrombie v. Nenneman, 2D2023-2110 (Fla. 2d DCA January 22, 2025).
The parties in this stalking case dated previously. By the time the stalking injunction petition was filed by the former boyfriend, the parties had been broken up for one year. From the time the parties broke up until the petition was filed, the former girlfriend was accused of contacting the former boyfriend multiple times, showing up at his place of employment and filing two sexual violence injunction petitions against him. The trial court entered an injunction against the former girlfriend and she appealed.
The trial court reversed, holding the former boyfriend did not demonstrate substantial emotional distress. The court held “And [the former boyfriend] did not present evidence of any threats, public shaming, or other conduct that would induce "stress of great proportion, in the nature of fear and concern."[internal citation omitted]. Relatedly, [the former boyfriend] did not identify any adverse consequences from [the former girlfriend’s] conduct that might cause substantial emotional distress in a reasonable person. While [the former boyfriend] was concerned after the July 2023 phone calls that [the former girlfriend] was going to ‘get fixated again and start showing up to [his] job or start calling [him] repeatedly,’ this unease or frustration over having to deal with an ex is not unique to this breakup, nor is it something that evokes a substantial level of distress in a reasonable person.”
The court concluded “We also note that on this record, [the former girlfriend’s] petitions for sexual violence injunctions against [the former boyfriend] and any police report she filed in conjunction therewith cannot be considered harassment or stalking. The evidence did not show that these actions ‘serve[d] no legitimate purpose’ so they could not support a stalking injunction. [internal citations omitted]. At bottom, the evidence before us is legally insufficient to support the stalking injunction against Ms. Abercrombie. We therefore reverse and remand with instructions to dismiss [the former boyfriend’s] petition.”
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